The Child Of Artemis
by Lamreal
Summary: A Maiden's Vow Broken, Her Child Hunted, Slowly being Guided towards a Sanctuary, Or so it seems...


(A/N) ((This is a Percy Jackson Fan fic, my first fan fic so be nice, any ideas as to how this can continue drop me a review, thanks ^^))

Prologue...

Apollo, God of the Sun, watched from above as the young Girl fled through the woods. The Great Nemian Lion Bounded after the girl with a burning rage fueled by the pain of the silver arrow piercing through his eye, digging deeper with every step. The god looked on; tempted to save the girl, but he knew better than to anger his father, Zeus. The girl stood more of a chance with the beast below then she would the wrath of Zeus above. He shall bare witness to either her survival or demise then consider how to bring the news to his sister...

"Hah, I just thought of a good one!" Apollo shouted his epiphany at the top of his lungs before changing his tone of voice to match his serene poetry.

Inhale, exhale

Forward, back

Living, dying:

Arrows, let flown each to

Each

Meet midway and slice

The void in aimless flight

Thus I return to the

Source.

Finishing the haiku, Apollo with a satisfied grin, returned to his attention back to his vigil...

The memories of her past plagued Abi's thoughts and suffocated her vision like a nightmare she couldn't escape. It had been many long freezing winters since she had fled her home and the foster parents. Her childhood wasn't the best; she never stayed in schools longer than a few months at best, strange things kept happening around her. one time when she befriended a girl called Ellie she had dark short hair and was socially quiet a kind of introvert, she easily befriended her and found common ground. Not long into their friendship her usual strain of bad luck and accidents affected her friend which almost killed Ellie, something or someone pushed her into the busy road and almost as soon as she hit the cold tire marked road a vehicle was upon her.. Everyone blamed Abi. Ellie, in shock also blamed Abi following suit of social pressure and child gossip. And so, over the course of the past five years, she has been on the run, the first two weeks were the worst. After fleeing her home she was being hunted by all manner of grotesque beast and monsters. Some she recognized, most she couldn't even begin to describe, all seemed to find her no matter how well she hid herself. Where she was running to, she didn't know. only that if she stopped running bad things and unfortunate events would unfold into a terrible situation, it seemed like humans were also after her as well, some beasts even accompanied humans or human like figures in the chase for her life and to her dismay no one would help her.

After two weeks of running, hiding and practically starving, she sighted a small stream and a dense forested area on the other side. she stopped briefly at the stream and drank deeply until her thirst had vanished and crossed the stream treading carefully on the pebble surface under the water, a voice in her head telling her softly to soak into nature and lay under the trees in the soft autumn leaves.

Mentally and physically exhausted she made it across the stream and with a soft humph she sat down on the side by the calming steady water. It was at that point that she saw it. A Giant twenty foot Lion with blood red eyes, soft Golden Fur and a huge grey bushy gasped and had to take a second to realize where she was, At first she thought she had entered a land from a story book she enjoyed called Narnia that she had read a few months back and half expected to see some sort of snow begin to fall, but as soon as the beast sighted her she had no time for her imagination, it started rampaging towards her, Abi knew it was another beast intent on her being a fast food meal on fast running legs.

With a weak cry for help and a startled gasp for air she started to half crawl half walk toward the forest in a shuffle across the floor not taking her eyes off the large creature. All the while in her mind she was crying, pleading for it to end, asking herself why this had to happen, if she would ever be safe again…

Before she knew it she was under the first tree, reaching behind her at the trees bark and using it to hoist herself to a full standing position. the forest looked welcoming, song birds singing in the high branches, she couldn't help but smile, it was beautiful, trees of many shades of color and bushes with all sorts of colorful berries and other small fruit's.

Then her mind snapped back to the lion. "Oh gods" she turned her head so fast she grew slightly dizzy only to see it was nowhere to be seen. "Where did it go?" she asked out loud. Dizziness hit her fast and she felt faint. Abi crawled over to a large tree and crawled up beneath it. "I'll only rest for a bit" she said with her eyes already closing and her voice growing fainter with every word…

Sleep took her. In her dreams she stepped out onto a meadow of soft grass and an otherworldly environment tinting the sky a little brighter, the grass a little greener almost as if the world had just been pushed into hd. Up ahead she saw a beautiful girl who looked in her late teens; she had Deep Silver eyes, Auburn hair, pale flawless skin covered in a body wrapping silk toga complementing her slim toned figure and a face of pure beauty with a smile so warm and gentle like you expect from a nurturing mother or a caring teacher. "You must learn to survive, become a hunter and learn as much as you can from the land. Live with nature and nature will live with you granting you the freedom you seek" as the girl spoke her words calmed me even more it was sort of melodic and sing song like but soft and stern at the same time, she made Abi feel loved and not alone.

Abi grew so entranced by the woman she just stood there for a moment staring at her otherworldly beauty and grace. Realizing she was gawking at the woman she snapped out of it "Who are you, where am I?" Abi Asked blinking quickly to hide her embarrassment

"Know only that you are safe Abi Hawk... And that I shall always look upon you with care, my name is Artemis you will learn all in due time my dear one" Artemis said with Love in her voice

"Thank you..." Abi couldn't finish her words, choking on her long hidden tears. All her Fears spinning around in her mind. She struggled to regain her composure.

"I know little one" Artemis spoke as if she could see into Abi's mind. "know that the barrier will start to decay soon so I leave you with the means to survive, do not lose them, they are both your weapons and your means of survival" she smiled whilst a silver bundle appeared by her feet in a godly glow "one more thing Abi Hawk... trust your instincts and we shall meet again young child" as Artemis's last words echoed in Abi's mind, the dream faded and reality awoke.

Abi awoke refreshed but sore from her journeys, the woods were dark and lonesome. The birds had stopped singing and the stream grew loud in the night air. there was a small fire burning next to her spreading a warmth and safety that reached the cold in her very bones. sitting up slowly with sleep Abi noticed she was wearing new clothing, a dark soft Leather trimmed jacket coming down to her hips with white/silver fur, Dark leather leggings with soft natural leather wrinkles embedded down the sides of her legs, Dark Leather Boots that went half way up her calf and tied tight at the top with leather string and a dark fur cloak that fell to her waist and sat snug around her shoulders, all of her new attire was comfortable and easy to move in. Something kept stroking her cheek softly, looking she noted a graceful silver black eagle feather. not only that but she also noted a few more new additions to her wardrobe, first a long silver engraved dagger, the hilt was wrapped in leather and in equal weight to the blade meaning it could be thrown easily or balanced well on the palm of your hand, it was sheathed on her right thigh. Also there was a beautiful Silver Bow engraved with foreign looking symbols, the bow was also accompanied by a matching Quiver strapped to her back, Engraved Silver arrows sticking out of its open top yet kept securely in place by the quivers soft leather interior so as not to fall out in battle, she felt the feathers on the backs of the arrows and noted how soft they were.

If she had a mirror she would've noted how she resembled a Native American princess, she had some Indian blood in her family or so she was told.

A smile on her face she decided to try out her new weapons. "I've seen Robin Hood so if a talking fox can do so can I" she said out loud with determination.

At first she struggled with Knocking an arrow on the string of her new bow, she rested it and it fell or her hands shook too much and made it next to impossible. After 6 tries or so she finally managed it and took aim at the tree opposite her and pulled on the bow, there was very little resistance when she pulled the string back; the hard part was holding it steady as the muscles in her arms tensed. Pulling the string back, she took a breath and on the exhale she let loose the arrow. The brief swish of the feathers through the air caused her adrenaline to burst and CRACK!

Shock ran through her at the sight of what she had just done. The arrow had punched a hole as big as her fist straight through the trunk of the tree.

"wow" she said surprised exhaling a deep breath of air, her eyebrows risen and her breath fast to match her adrenaline filled heart.

Sprinting to the tree she saw the arrow sticking into another tree behind the one she intended as a target. She went to pull the arrow from the tree and as she touched it the arrow turned into a ghostly mist. The mist floated around her like smoke and briefly touched her cheek as if caressing it then softly lowered itself into the quiver taking the form of an arrow once again as if it had never been shot.

"Wow" was all she could manage.

She foraged for food for a while and sat to feast on fruits and berries until she grew slightly sick from being too full and decided to walk it off in the fresh air and explore the enchanting forest under the bright gaze of the silver moon. her senses came alive in the night, she could see perfectly in the darkness, every star and cloud shun like a bright city light, she could hear the sleeping animals breathing heavily and dreaming of wild dreams. and of course the ones that are awake at night were easy to sense, their movements echoed in her ears and the beating of their hearts like a drum in the wind. She came to a small lake in the middle of the forest, the noise of frogs croaking and fish breaking the soft top on the water. it was pristine. She drank some of the water and it was like silk down her coarse throat so refreshing and clear, she realized she needed to start noting her surroundings and where her vital supplies can be found and had a quick scan of the area before moving on. There was a small dark humid cave further in to the woods. Hidden by thick brush and surrounded by tall trees she decided it was a good place to start setting up an idea of what she could call home. Pulling out her dagger in one swift motion she started to chisel into the top of the cave mouth in jagged rough writing. -ABI'S ROOM! KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING, PLEASE. AND IF YOU'RE A MONSTER DONT COME IN!-

With a smile she explored her new home. It was spacious inside, nice area plenty of room for a fire and room at the back for a bed of sorts. She heard a small whistle growing fainter the more she focused on it and turned to see a picture book on the stone floor with an odd cover picture of a cartoon tree and camp fire, one given to children to help teach them useful life skills such as reading, she picked it up and laughed out loud shaking her head with disbelief from the title. -APOLLO'S GUIDE TO SURVIVING IN THE WOODS. FOR DUMMIES!- She opened it to discover all manner of useful information and pictures for detail describing how to make traps and needed survival skills. She looked around saw nothing but the darkness of the cave walls and the trees at the entrance, she thought it must have been the woman again helping her as if she had her own guardian and called out "Thank you!" To the night sky with a giggle of relief.

The monsters were always nearby but unable to get into the forest because of a kind of fog like barrier surrounding the trees. that was at first anyway, just like the girl Artemis had said in her dream world the barrier was fading and soon she will need to defend herself. But by this time Abi had gotten used to her surroundings and her tools. She had befriended the birds and other animals slowly but surely, they tended to keep her company through her stay in the woods and gave her warmth whilst she slept her nights in the cave. After spending so much time with the animals she grew to understand their movements and actions and after a while she learned that she could hear them speak as if it was in her mind, whilst it was scary at first after she adjusted she learned to talk back and learned their ways and so she wasn't so alone in her new nightmarish world. By the time the monsters broke through the barrier she had learned to make use of her instincts, for example she set traps in and around the forest, pit traps with sharpened stakes at the bottom, Swinging stake branch traps, trip vines, and thorn fences in areas that would make anyone hurt. Thanks to her self-training from the wonderful she had received, she became good at hunting the creatures that slipped into her forest. Especially at night, for some reason she found herself more powerful in strength and mind when the moon was shining down on her.

It was one such night when a raven deep in the darkness came to her and told her that a beast had fallen into one of her pit traps. She grabbed her Bow and rushed to the traps location, careful not to fall in herself when she neared the deep brown and red leaves that covered the borders of the trap. She found that the beastly creature had indeed fallen for her ingenious trap, and it was a grotesque beast to say the least.

The creature bore scales in the colors of a sickly yellow tinted with green, the scales followed down its back to its side and became a ghostly grey colored flesh on its stomach that lasted onto its deep black legs all four of them, this beast was shaped like half human Half Dog. Its tail made of discolored bone and its talons and teeth followed suit in the yellow tinted dirty color.

She had seen so many creatures in all the years that she was no longer scared of their appearance. They have never once been anything close to beautiful and the smell of them was just as bad, approaching the edge of the trap with all of her amusement and happiness of catching her Prey, she decided to mock the thing.

"want a hand?" she called down to the beast with a smirk on her face and her arms crossed sharing the same smugness of the favorite childhood cartoon, Robin Hood and Peter Pan had helped her a lot over the years, her personality followed suit. Another lost boy in the form of a girl.

"Hmm, why not... I'm feeling a bit peckish" it hissed in return spitting a yellow acid like liquid as he spoke.

Shivers ran up her back as it spoke its deep voice was revolting, if evil had a voice then this beast was evil. she was scared of this beast even through her smugness its appearance may not be worth fearing but its evil ways were, the memories ached inside her head like a video she couldn't turn off, looking at the beast made her fill with rage and emotion and worst of all left her feeling the way she did all those years ago.

With what can only be described as animal instinct she unslung her bow, knocked an arrow and shot with a flash of silver into the ghostly flesh of the beast, Straight into its cold black heart. In a flash of silvery light there was a screech of pain like a howl of an injured dog and then nothing but deadly silence.

Shivering from shock she looked into the pit, the beast which had filled her with such fear was now a pile of ghostly white dust, gathering herself she began to regain her composure and taking deep breaths she realized there was a smell in the air that wasn't quite right.

SMOKE!

She started to panic, looking around trying to locate the fire; she could see nothing, only billows of black ash filled smoke drifting through the trees. She started to climb the nearest tree fighting her lungs urge to give up and the red soreness of her eyes in order to get a better view of her surroundings to try and find the flames; upon reaching the top she let loose a growl of rage.

"Those Evil... I'll kill you, all of you, beasts!" Abi pledged screaming it to the moon and back leaving an echo of death and nger in the air. The hordes of monsters she had been running circles round for months had done the one thing she didn't think possible, they had set her precious home, her trees on fire.

She knew it was too far gone the trees were curling in the heat and the leaves non-existent, no way to stop it.

Her instincts screaming for her to run, Tears streaming down her face, she knew it would be like the last time all those years ago and she would have to flee from her home once again. With one last scream of pain and white hot rage she lept from the tree, landing with a roll. Up and running instantly she rushed to her cave grabbed her sack and cloak, noted the full water skin and filled her sack with what food she had in the cave. Looking one last time at her home she whispered her goodbyes with such sorrow the words chocked in her mouth from tears and smoke, and ran, ran through her burning sanctuary, through the only place she knew to be truly safe, through years of happiness... as she ran animals ran with her echoing her tears of anguish and animalistic noises of hate.

"At least I'm not alone" she cried. Tears freely falling down her ash covered face, by the time she looked back all she could make out was a huge orange blaze on the horizon and the roaring hordes of monsters big and small craving her blood. Why this kept on happening she didn't know, all she knew was they were after her and running was her only chance for vengeance. So she ran. For Revenge, for a future and for freedom.


End file.
